Cutting A Stone Bigger Than My Thumb—Could Be a Masterpiece, Could Be a Mistake

Most stones don’t get this big.

Most cuts aren’t this ridiculous.

I’ve been addicted to cutting these elongated hexagon designs—what are also called “Rupee cuts”—for a while now. I’ve made 6 or 7 so far. But this one’s different, it will be tested in a massively sized gem cut.

It started with a “why not?” moment. I had a full synthetic spinel boule—intact, eye clean throughout the interior, never sliced—and decided to cut the entire thing into one giant stone.

I did a full preform, of course, and I’ve been filming the entire process to release later. But the key difference? This isn’t a piece, a chunk, or a sliver. It’s the whole boule, shaped into a single oversized gemstone.

The result? A gem bigger than my thumb, pushing 40+ carats (maybe). It’s the largest stone I’ve ever cut—and surprisingly satisfying to work on.

Some things that caught me off guard:

• Large facets meet up easier than I expected

• Switching laps is touchy—small differences = major cheats

• Final polish? Not more difficult (still Spinel at the end of the day), just more time-consuming

I’m currently finishing the pavilion polish. The light performance already looks promising. Next comes the part I’m most nervous about: transferring the entire thing.

I’ve never transferred a stone this size before, and I’m honestly not sure how it’s going to go. Could be a masterpiece… could be a painful lesson.

Either way, I’ll share the full result soon—plus some behind-the-scenes from the full cutting process.